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HUGE YEAR FOR KALAMAZOO DISC GOLF!

So I met with the new director of Parks and Recreation with the City of Kalamazoo and we have come to agreements on several issues. First, they will be providing support via trash bags and implements to help keep our garbage cans from being dumped. Next, we have a green light to begin an actual fundraising campaign to provide park improvements and renovations, these improvements will be overseen and managed by the city, however, we will have our say in what improvements are made and we will have an opportunity to participate in their installation, mostly through the grunt work. Another point touched upon was the possibility of changing the layout of Knollwood to move the action away from some of the muddier areas and utilize more of the open space.

Now this is where it gets real, this year, we need to rally every single person that has an interest in making Kalamazoo a disc golf landmark toward this goal. We have been invited to represent the disc golf interest to several groups and entities within the city that make long term decisions. The disc golf community must assemble to show that we are numerous and that we are all interested in the growth of disc golf in this area. What we do now can have an impact on future generations that can include the creation of new, professional level courses, the institution of disc golf education curriculum in different programs, and could turn Kalamazoo into a major hub of professional disc golf.

I have created a new group that I trust will be fundamental to achieving this goal, every one of us, from the two year old with a mini to the 65 year old with a trolley full of discs, will benefit from banding together. We can show this city, this state, and the world that disc golf is a socially and physically healthy activity that can increase morale, create community awareness, and yes, even bring money into local economies.

I will be organizing meetings of this group to go over our goals and aspirations, to inform members of ways to help and create awareness, and to organize representative groups to go into our communities to spread the word of disc golf. This group is not just for people from Kalamazoo, I strongly urge people from other cities, municipalities, and states to come and see what we are doing. I hope to create a model of cooperation that can be used in clubs and cities all over the country.